She's a stressed and struggling student in Osaka, living alone and barely managing to pay off her debts to keep herself off the streets. But an encounter with her used-to-be favourite utaite, Mafumafu, might change all of that!
After school I head home to Mafumafu, prepared for anything that might happen. I might walk in on him crying, or maybe just lying in his bed. Perhaps he's been there all day. Maybe I should just give him a hug. Unlocking the door with the keys that Mafumafu gave me, I step inside the house. Cautiously heading up the stairs, all is silent. I can't hear anything. That's weird, I think to myself, is he out?. An image of the entry hallway flashes up in my mind. His shoes were here when I came in, so he must be home right? Heading closer to Mafumafu's room, the door is slightly ajar. Gripping the doorknob, I peek around the door. "Mafumafu-san...?"
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Entering Mafumafu's room, it feels like I'm entering the darkness itself. He's lying down on his bed, not moving. I step on something, and hear it crack. Looking down, it's Mafumafu's phone. "Mafumafu, are you okay?", I ask tensely. I gently place a hand on his back, careful not wake him. Mafumafu shakingly breathes, he's awake after all. "#-###-chan...", Mafumafu whispers. "What is it?", I ask softly. He looks up at me shakingly, eyes red and puffy. He's clearly been crying. Mafumafu manages to get out of bed, and walks over to his phone quietly. Picking up his broken phone, Mafumafu comes over to show the cracked screen to me. "L-look...", he whispers. I look, it's another one of those headlines, and it's even worse.
MAFUMAFU SUSPECTED OF BEING AFFILIATED WITH POSSIBLE CRIMINAL UTAITE SORARU
Upon reading it again, Mafumafu bursts into tears. "I-I don't understand, ###-chan!", cries Mafumafu "None of this is true, I swear!". Mafumafu enters the search bar for Soraru's name, and flicks to news on the results. "There's horrible things about Soraru-san too", Mafumafu whimpers, handing me his phone. Handling it carefully, I scroll through the various articles. Mafumafu's right, there is horrible things about Soraru. Tapping on one article, entitled "Utaite Soraru Caught Smoking", there is an image of Soraru walking around at night in an alleyway, wearing a hoodie and holding a cigarette between his fingers. I can't see his face, but his raven-black hair is instantly recognisable. "No way...", I whisper. Soraru definitely wouldn't do this... would he? He seems like a good person, so there's no way, is there? Meanwhile, Mafumafu was holding his head in his hands in despair. "None of this is true... I've known Soraru-san for a long time, he wouldn't smoke, it's bad for his singing! We've known each other for so long...", Mafumafu falls down on his bed, covering his face with his arm as tears run down his pale cheeks.
"Why is this happening to me, ###-chan?"
Mafumafu asks me, barely audible. "I didn't do anything wrong...", Mafumafu sniffs, and wipes his cheeks again. "I just want to disappear, I want all of this to go away...", Mafumafu mutters, rolling over, and hugging his tear-stained pillow. I join him on his bed, wrapping my arms around his shaking frame. Mafumafu turns to look at me. "Don't worry, Mafumafu-san", I say, trying to make him feel better, while trying to the same or myself. "We'll find out who did this, and they'll pay." "But how?", asks Mafumafu. "There's no way to identify the person who did this, and you and I don't know how to...". I give Mafumafu a grin.
